Where The Newspaper Stands

September 16, 2002

Testing the waters

Poquoson is the guinea pig for fall elections

In a little more than seven weeks, voters in Poquoson will be doing something not seen 'round these parts. They'll be electing their City Council in November. Which is like playing baseball in January.

In Virginia, city and town elections are a rite of spring. When the foliage is changing color, voters typically go to the polls to choose -- depending on the election cycle -- a president, a U.S. senator or congressman or a member of the General Assembly. County elections are also in the fall.

But this past General Assembly session, Poquoson sought and was granted permission to move its City Council election to November. (Also switching: Lexington, Norton and Richmond.) The rationale is to save money -- you open the polls only once a year rather than twice -- and encourage better turnout. Municipal elections are notorious for poor turnout; more voters typically go to the polls in the fall, when the issues are perceived as more important and the campaigns have a higher profile.

Another argument of proponents of consolidation is that it will make elections more competitive, that the current low-turnout races in the spring play into the hands of incumbents who already enjoy immense advantages. Also, consolidating the elections could, in some cases, strengthen the ties between local and other elected officials, and that in turn could improve the relationships of their respective government bodies. (Frankly, this last point seems like a stretch. Stronger ties between candidates for local offices, which depend on the state for money, and candidates for state office with the power of the purse? Wishful thinking. More likely the tensions between state and local government would be more obvious, the relationships of the different candidates more confrontational.)

Those who oppose consolidation argue:

* If you move city elections to the fall, they will be infected by the partisanship that governs congressional and General Assembly races. Political partisanship, they argue, is not useful to solving the problems facing localities, which need to be run efficiently and, in large measure, in the manner of a business.

* Consolidated elections in the fall might save localities money, but they will increase the costs of campaigns. Candidates will face longer campaign seasons and will have to spend more money to get their message across in an atmosphere filled with other issues. Higher costs will deter people from running -- which will play into the hands of incumbents.

* What are the issues? It's hard enough to communicate them to the public as it is. But what happens if you want to run in a local race on the need to raise the property tax to pay for education, when state or federal candidates are running against taxes? Or, as there will be this fall, when there are multiple referenda on tax and bond issues? The answer: You get issue confusion. A city council candidate who wants to improve recreation might suddenly find himself having to answer how he lines up with a congressional candidate who, perhaps, is making abortion an issue. Separate elections properly maintain separate consideration of separate issues.

* Officials elected in January would take office in the middle of the fiscal year.

These are interesting points, but county boards of supervisors are elected in the fall. Where is the evidence that they have suffered the ills that opponents say will befall city elections if they are moved to the fall?

Fortunately, there's no need to rush to try to find the definitive answer to these questions, or to alter the election cycle in other Peninsula localities. Virginia is famous for taking its time. Here is an issue on which to take some time -- time profitably spent by watching to see what happens in Poquoson and other localities that have made the change. Will campaign costs go up or down? Will people be encouraged to run or discouraged? Will the city council candidates be able to focus effectively on local issues, or will larger races swallow up their campaigns?

Let's wait and see. The burden of proof would seem to be on proponents of change. Of greatest concern is the possibility that local issues would be lost in the louder, more partisan debates that occur in elections for more powerful offices. Higher turnout or not, that would serve no one well.

Genakos departs

Councilman's swan song doesn't ring true

Maybe it's the "heavy heart" or the "heart and soul" searching. But one read of Williamsburg City Councilman George Genakos's abrupt and unexpected resignation letter and you conclude that Genakos's rationale for his departure is a tad, let us say, overblown.

When respected Councilman Channing Hall III decided to step down off the council, Genakos -- who had served on the council previously -- stepped up as a candidate to replace Hall and promptly pre- empted the field for the May election.